{"id":132354,"date":"2012-11-17T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2012-11-17T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/?p=132354"},"modified":"2012-12-26T16:03:20","modified_gmt":"2012-12-26T21:03:20","slug":"monopolizing-and-legalizing-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/article-of-the-day\/11\/17\/monopolizing-and-legalizing-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Monopolizing (And Legalizing) Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Article:<\/strong> Uruguay takes \u2018war on drugs\u2019 in new direction: state monopoly over the production and distribution of marijuana<\/a> in The Christian Science Monitor.<\/p>\n

The Text:<\/strong> Uruguay has long been at the vanguard of social reform in Latin America. Today, it is on the verge of passing into law one of its most radical ideas yet.<\/p>\n

The Broad Front \u2013 the center-left coalition that holds power \u2013 is proposing a state monopoly over the production and distribution of marijuana, making Uruguay the first national government to sell cannabis directly to citizens. The government says the measure is necessary to combat rising drug-related crime, decrease health risks for users, and counter ineffective US policies on drugs. But within Uruguay, interest groups have labeled the legislation totalitarian, while some international bodies argue it breaches global conventions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re putting this forward as international policy,\u201d says Sebastian Sabini, president of the parliamentary commission created to debate the bill. \u201cThe war on drugs has failed. There are more consumers and more violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUruguay is opening up a new path,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Pushing the envelope<\/p>\n

Uruguay is often overshadowed by the far larger economies of its neighbors Brazil and Argentina. But the country has made a name for itself with a long history of pushing the envelope on social issues.<\/p>\n

In 1918, Uruguay became one of the first countries in the region to officially separate the state from the Roman Catholic Church. It implemented South America\u2019s oldest mandatory pension system in 1896, and a bill to decriminalize abortion is expected to pass later this year.<\/p>\n

But the bill proposing the legalization of marijuana has been denounced by the United Nations for breaching its 1961 convention on narcotics, and Uruguayans are also skeptical: Polls say just 40 percent approve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll end up with people who don\u2019t use marijuana buying it to sell on and make a quick buck,\u201d says Hugo Lacasa, a street trader in Montevideo.<\/p>\n

In early September, a parliamentary commission began a six-month debate to refine the bill, which will next be voted on in Congress. The Broad Front has a majority in both houses, but given the audacity of the proposal, President Jose Mujica, a former leftist guerrilla, has said it must have a minimum of 60 percent approval by lawmakers. Usually, just a 51 percent simple majority is required.<\/p>\n

‘Tackling’ black market<\/p>\n

The government introduced the bill in part because of \u201cthe failure of the global \u2018war on drugs,\u2019 \u201d according to the text of the proposed law. It also believes that by separating the marijuana and hard drug markets, less people will become addicted to the latter \u2013 especially “paco,” a cocaine-based paste.<\/p>\n

Violence linked to the black market for drugs will plummet too, says Julio Calzada, secretary general of Uruguay\u2019s National Committee on Drugs. \u201cUruguay\u2019s criminality rate has increased by approximately 10 percent in the last few years,\u201d Mr. Calzada says. \u201cWe can tackle that by regulating the $40 million marijuana market.\u201d<\/p>\n

But legalization campaigners insist the plans would place too much control in the hands of government while the UN is irked by the \u201cgrave violation\u201d of its drug interdiction strategy.<\/p>\n

Alternative to the ‘war on drugs?’<\/p>\n

The war on drugs was instigated by President Nixon in the 1970s in an attempt to curtail the consumption of drugs in the US. Since then, a similar strategy of zero tolerance has been adopted by politicians across the Americas, aided by Washington. Amid pushback from drug-trafficking cartels, violence has escalated, and tens of thousands of people have died.<\/p>\n

Uruguay\u2019s bill has been depicted as an alternative to that strategy, and other Latin American countries like Bolivia and Guatemala have expressed their support.<\/p>\n

The Uruguayan government argues that the war on drugs can never achieve a \u201cworld without drugs.\u201d Cannabis use rose by almost 9 percent worldwide between 1998 and 2008, proponents of the bill say.<\/p>\n

Uruguay, a country of just 3 million people, has also supported Bolivia\u2019s calls to legalize the coca leaf \u2013 the key ingredient of cocaine but also traditionally used in its natural state for medicinal purposes, and to stave off hunger and altitude sickness.<\/p>\n

President Mujica said the government will require around 150 hectares, or 370 acres, of plantations to meet the needs of what they estimate are Uruguay\u2019s 18,000 regular marijuana consumers. Most of the current supply is trafficked from Paraguay.<\/p>\n

A ‘totalitarian’ bill<\/p>\n

Mr. Sabini, the president of the parliamentary commission, says that if the state controls cultivation, smokers will be assured of a safe product.<\/p>\n

A monthly limit of 40 grams per person will also be imposed, Mr. Calzada says. Foreigners will not be allowed to purchase the cannabis, as has been the case in popular party destinations like Amsterdam, Holland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bill is there to resolve Uruguay\u2019s problems,\u201d said Mujica. \u201cWe don\u2019t want drug tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, in what may come as a surprise, the proposed legislation has not won over marijuana legalization activists, who label it totalitarian.<\/p>\n

Juan Vaz, a leading campaigner once jailed for growing cannabis plants, is lobbying lawmakers to ensure they also allow private, domestic production. The current law would mean that individual growers keep breaking the law, and only state-run production would be legal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government should regulate home cultivation rather than seek a monopoly,\u201d says Mr. Vaz.<\/p>\n

Mujica has said the proposal puts Uruguay \u201cat the vanguard\u201d once more. \u201cThe problem isn\u2019t the marijuana in itself,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the trafficking and the violence associated with the black market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time for a new approach,\u201d says Mr. Calzada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Article: Uruguay takes \u2018war on drugs\u2019 in new direction: state monopoly over the production and distribution of marijuana in The Christian Science Monitor. The Text: Uruguay has long been at the vanguard of social reform in Latin America. Today, it is on the verge of passing into law one of its most radical ideas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[259],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMonopolizing (And Legalizing) Marijuana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the 'War on Drugs' continues to on its disastrous path, Uruguay offers its own solution.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prosebeforehos.com\/article-of-the-day\/11\/17\/monopolizing-and-legalizing-marijuana\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Monopolizing (And Legalizing) Marijuana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the 'War on Drugs' 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